Edmonds takes clean-energy pledge, but is that achievable?
EDMONDS — Edmonds has pledged to have clean, renewable energy powering the homes, offices and other buildings within its boundaries by 2025. It is the first Washington community to join the Sierra Club’s national campaign to get city halls and statehouses to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
The Edmonds City Council set the goal for its community after President Donald Trump pulled the U.S. out of of the Paris Agreement. The multinational accord aims to substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions beginning in 2020 in an effort to soften forecast changes in the earth’s climate that could be harmful or even catastrophic for humans.
“It’s clear that the federal government is not going to do anything,” Edmonds Councilman Mike Nelson said.
He wrote and submitted the language containing the goal. The council passed it in late June. The resolution also requires the city to have a plan for achieving its goal by Nov. 1, 2018. The resolution does not contain any language penalizing the city for missing the self-imposed deadlines.
The city’s deadline of 2025 appears to be a stillborn goal due to the realities of how electricity is generated and transported to homes, shops and offices. Achieving 100 percent clean and renewable energy in eight years would require Edmonds to pull out of the regional power grid.
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